Setting up an SSH server on Ubuntu is about as simple as it gets. The server of choice is OpenSSH.

Run this command from a terminal window:

sudo apt-get install ssh

To test that it’s working, you can try to ssh into your own machine:

> ssh localhost

The authenticity of host ‘localhost (127.0.0.1)’ can’t be established.
RSA key fingerprint is 98:8a:b8:b2:9e:8a:84:e0:d4:08:27:fb:74:f0:de:d4.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?

Looks like it’s working! Naturally our ssh client doesn’t have the key for the server, since we just installed it. You can type yes to continue or just hit Ctrl-C to stop.

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Lowell is the founder and CEO of How-To Geek. He’s been running the show since creating the site back in 2006. Over the last decade, Lowell has personally written more than 1000 articles which have been viewed by over 250 million people. Prior to starting How-To Geek, Lowell spent 15 years working in IT doing consulting, cybersecurity, database management, and programming work.
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